VietNamNet Bridge – The serious poaching which has not been eased over the
last many years has led to the sharp fall of the number of elephant individuals
in Vietnam, from 1500-2000 in 1990s to tens of elephants now.

Three years ago, FFI, an international flora and fauna conservation
organization, gave the warning that the then 150 elephant individuals were in
the danger of becoming extinct.

Though the poachers still cannot make elephants disappear absolutely from
Vietnam, extinction is a foreseeable thing, if Vietnam cannot do more to protect
its elephants.

In 2009, Frank Momberg, a representative of FFI, undertook the job of building
an elephant training center right in the central province of Dak Lak, believed
to be the main land for elephants in Vietnam. At that time, people kept
optimistic about the project feasibility, believing that this would help much
the wildlife conservation plan.

However, in September 2012, Mark McDonald, a conservationists, stated that the
groups of conservationists all have “surrendered” in the fight to protect
Vietnam’s elephants.

An elephant conservation center has been built in the National Park in Dak Lak
province, becoming the residence place for a herd of 29 elephants. However, the
small scale of the center and the limited sponsor fund do not allow the officers
here prevent the poaching to protect the lives of elephants.

Two weeks ago, a couple of elephants were killed right in the forest belonging
to the sanctuary. The officers here discovered the dead body of a male elephant
with its head, heliotrope and tusks cut.

Forest rangers are now worried that the death of a male elephant would make it
difficult for the elephants to maintain the race. Director of the Dak Lak
National Park said the elephant poaching had been developing so rapidly. Six
male elephants have been killed so far this year.

The strong economic development since early 1990s has led to the narrowing of
the living environment for elephants. The forests, which were once their living
areas, have been replaced by rice, coffee and rubber farms, or factories, water
dams and roads. Meanwhile, the vast forests with precious wood have been chopped
down for sale for money.

No one could protect Vietnam’s elephants?

Mark McDonald agreed with Momberg when saying that the local authorities, on one
hand, make the decisions to protect elephants, but on the other hands, they do
not care about their living environment.

In 2006, the government of Vietnam released an “urgent action plan” to protect
elephants nationwide. However, the plan has not been implemented so far.

In 1993, the government of Vietnam decided to move 13 wild elephants in the
southern region, which then turned into industrial farms, to other places. The
result of the campaign was the death of an elephant, while the last elephant was
carried to the Saigon zoo.

When elephants lose their familiar living environment and the food sources get
exhausted, elephants, which are believed to be clever and close to humans, are
facing the risk of extinction.

The narrowed living environment has prompted elephants to go out of forests to
enter residential quarters, devastate rice fields and kill people. Local
residents, in order to survive, have to protect themselves by creating deep
trenches to use as traps and fight with elephants with self-modified
instruments.

In related news, FFI has pointed out that the high demand for elephant tusks
from China has worsened the elephant poaching all over the world.